Every person experiences a feeling of fear. Feelings of anxiety or fear can be short-term and be the result of any events, but in some cases it can become a constant companion of life and turn into a real phobia. Children's fears are specific. In the absence of attention on the part of the parents to the anxiety of the child, the usual fear can lead to the onset of mental disorders not only in preschool, but also in adulthood.
The main feature of childhood fear is the scale of situations or objects that can cause anxiety or real panic in the child. The source of fear can be an object, an animal, a certain atmosphere or setting. In most cases, parents themselves provoke fear in the child by telling scary stories, frightening the child with fictional characters and other situations.
The main causes of fear in a child are:
- fear, which is literally imposed by parents;
- fear arising from the constant humiliation of the child by adults;
- the presence of a dysfunctional family environment;
- lack of attention from parents to the development of the child;
- excessive care of the child.
All these factors almost always become the reasons for the appearance of fears in children, gradually turning into phobias. For example, if mom or dad is bitten by a dog, then this situation becomes a constant warning for the child. The child's psyche perceives the animal as a source of danger, and at the sight of a dog, a real panic attack occurs. Similar situations can be observed with natural phenomena, other representatives of the animal world, as well as insects, reptiles, and specific people (strangers or old people).
Fears can arise in children due to lack or excessive parental care. In the first case, the child is left alone with his anxieties and intensifies them with the help of his imagination. In the second situation, the parents are trying to protect the child from any source of danger, because of which the baby may be afraid to be alone even for a minute.
If a child is afraid of the dark, animals, or finds other sources of anxiety, then such manifestations should in no case be ignored. Otherwise, you will have to treat the child's psyche for a long time. If the correction of childhood fear cannot be carried out on our own, then it is necessary to seek help from specialists.
